The Egypt In My Looking Glass
Yuri Kruman, 2014
Author House
192 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781491847763
Summary
Twenty-five years after their hellish emigration—thirty from their famous father's exodus—a sister and her brothers hear his voice again. All three have long since "made it" in the States, despite—maybe, because of—his abandonment.
Forced by his own divorce to question everything, Vlad reels and frolics to forget himself—and learn to live again. Skirt-chasing author Mark, seething with writer's block, commits himself to marry by a verbal slip. Alla's precocious children prod her to examine who she is and why. A sleazy cousin—Tolik, hopeless Brighton product—is about to score his one big hit, again. His brother, Boris, now religious, struggles to transcend his past.
A family get-together threatens to ignite their old resentments. Edouard Yablonskiy, freshly minted dissident, has one last chance to make amends. His three grown children now must choose—to exit their own Egypt and forgive or let the past demand their satisfaction.
Author Bio
• Birth—April 13, 1983
• Where—Moscow, Russia
• Raised—Lexington, Kentucy, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Pennsylvania; J.D.,
Benjamin Cardozo School of Law
• Currently—lives in New York, New York
Yuri Kruman was born in Moscow and, at the age of nine, moved to Kentucky where he grew up. He studied neuroscience and anthropology at University of Pennsylvania before receiving his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He has worked on Wall Street and in healthcare. He lives with his wife and daughter in Manhattan. (From the author.)
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Discussion Questions
1. What does Vlad's "rebellion" signal about his internal state?
2. What effect do her kids' questions about childhood and heritage have on her self-understanding?
3. Which of the three kids and/or two cousins is the most sensitive to their Russian heritage and why?
4. What is the nature of the tension between the three kids and their cousins, other than leftover childhood resentment? Is this typical of the Russian community or all immigrant group in New York?. Discuss.
5. How is the mother depicted in this book, as seen through the eyes of her children and nephews? Discuss her role in her children's lives at this stage.
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)